"A writer never has a vacation ..."

"Do want!"

Your character wants something. Anything. Universal peace. The boy next door. The griffon egg at the pet store. A cherry pie like mom used to make. The last digit of pi. Faster than light transport. A glass of water. As grand or as simple as you want it to be.

There are, of course, obstacles between your character and what he or she wants. Want and obstacles are the cornerstone of fiction :-)

It can be a new character or an old character you want to discover more about.

Start writing. Let the words flow without worrying about quality or whether it makes sense. If your character changes wants in the middle, go with it.

"The only way to learn to write ..."

Inner spirit

Energumen - a person possessed as by an evil ghost, spirit, or entity.

Your character is a hunter of energumen. It's a typical fantasy element, sometimes placed in current times, but to be different, set it in the future. On Earth? On Mars? On a starship? On some other world of non-humans?

Does the energumen need killed or is the goal to remove the evil spirit? (Then what?)

Are the energumen obvious? Does the person know they're possessed? Does the person act in concert with the evil entity? If obvious, are they seen as "crazy" and how do you distinguish regular crazy people from possessed crazy people?

Is the entity truly evil? Or does just it need a host to survive in a symbiotic relationship, and the two can coexist together? Perhaps it's only the non-possessed who find the idea disturbing and the energumen is fine playing host. But if a person doesn't accepted the spirit until the spirit joins with them, then is it free choice?

I love a parade

"Lots of times you have to pretend to join a parade in which you're not really interested in order to get where you're going." -Christopher Morley, writer (1890-1957)

I'm guessing he meant metaphorically, going along in the direction people are headed to help you get where you're going, but what if it's a real parade? What kind of parade? The kind with floats? Dragon performers? Virtual? Military? Your guys or theirs? In war or peace? Prisoner? Slaves to market? KKK? Circus? A famous band or troupe coming to perform?

Why do you need to join? To hide in plain sight? To get across? To go with the flow? To get where they're going or somewhere along the way?

"There is more pleasure ..."

Frog defeat

"The poor frog never had a chance." (Overheard at Barnes and Noble.)

Never had a chance at what? At the election? At eating something a tad large? At a jumping contest against ... what? At performing? Or is The Poor Frog someone's nickname?

A driving adult might have a particular image come to mind, but that's too easy! What other possibilities are there?

At Life's door

Okay, turning things around from the last post, your character has rung the bell at Life's door. Do they run away? Why? Do they wait? What happens next?

Who is this character seeking Life? A spirit waiting for a body? Someone who died? Are they calling on Life for themselves or someone else? Is giving someone life a gift or a curse?

Or some other reason? Do they have a question? Do they want to harm Life?

Top 10 Tabloid Headlines for August 2008

Though the Weekly World News is no more, here's the headlines from the archives of City Newstand in Chicago, for writing prompts or just for fun :-)

Top 10 Tabloid Headlines from AUGUST 1998

1. HEMORRHOID HEIST! -- WWN
   
2. Taco dog look-alike flushed down toilet! -- WWN
   
3. Newborn baby flies out of mom's womb at 50 m.p.h.! -- WWN
   
4. Live kittens rain from the sky! -- SUN
   
5. AIR FORCE PILOTS REPORT SEEING FLYING PIGS -- WWN
   
6. KA-BOOM!Exploding pig blows farmer into hog heaven! -- WWN
   
7. ZOOKEEPER SUFFOCATES IN 200 POUNDS OF ELEPHANT POOP! -- WWN
   
8. 'GIRAFFE' WOMEN FREED FROM HUMAN ZOO -- SUN
   
9. MAN DIES FROM BREAKING WIND! -- WWN
   
10. JFK WAS SHOT TO PREVENT HIM FROM REVEALING TRUTH ABOUT UFOs! -- WWN